Jim Stevenson: We must safeguard a natural treasure

Those who appreciate and support Wakulla Springs State Park are striving to maintain its health for the children of today and generations to come.

Some Florida springs have become too polluted for swimming, and other springs no longer flow because officials have ignored science and continue to make wrong decisions. Local communities have lost the economic, recreational and natural values of their springs. An economic study by Florida State University found that Wakulla Springs State Park generates $22 million annually for the local economy. Our “Capital Spring” is an international tourist destination, and visitation has been as much as 200,000 people per year.

The volunteer guardians of Wakulla Springs have accomplished more to protect our spring then has been accomplished for any other Florida spring.

Some voices are quick to place blame for the recent decision to stop an ill-conceived project proposed by the TCC Wakulla Environmental Institute. This project would have:

• “Taken” 2,000 acres of the state park that has been managed by experienced park service land managers for 14 years.

• Developed an unneeded RV campground, even though two public, underutilized campgrounds are just 20 minutes away.

• Risked contamination of Wakulla Springs from an extensive sewer system that would have negated the reason the governor and Cabinet approved the acquisition of this property, which cost over $5 million to protect the caves and water flowing to the spring.

The WEI desire for this proposed project can easily be met by establishing “cooperative agreements” with the national forest, the national wildlife refuge, the state forest, the county park and two state parks, all of which are in Wakulla County. Experienced rangers and resource managers can teach restoration and campground management to students while performing their daily work.

An unanswered question was whether there would be students for such a program if there were no jobs? Lake City Community College dropped its Park Technology Program in 1985 because of a lack of students. State jobs have been eliminated in recent years. There are commonly more than 100 applicants for a state park ranger position, and many of the applicants have four-year degrees.

We all hope the Wakulla Environmental Institute evolves into a premier educational center, and we commend those who opposed this inappropriate venture before serious mistakes were made and millions of public dollars wasted. Florida’s state parks are valuable and deserve the highest level of protection. They are not surplus land for the taking.

Jim Stevenson is former coordinator of the Wakulla Spring Basin Working Group. Contact him at Florida_springs@comcast.net.